# David Berman Disbands Silver Jews; Speaks Horrors Of His MF SOB Father

- Link: https://indierockcafe.com/2009/01/david-berman-disbands-silver-jews-speaks-horrors-of-his-mf-sob-father/
- Published: 2009-01-28T05:07:00-05:00
- Author: Max Hammer

[[David Berman, the prolific frontman of the 15-year old indie-alt rock band Silver
Jews, has announced the official break up of the band, according to a statement 
posted on the band’s official forum.

In a posting, Berman wrote: “Yes I cancelled the South American shows…I guess I 
am moving over to another category. Screenwriting or Muckraking. I’ve got to move
on. Can’t be like all the careerists doncha [sic] know. I’m forty two and I know
what to do…I always said we would stop before we got bad. If I continue to record
I might accidentally write the answer song to Shiny Happy People.”

Berman went even further in subsequent posts taking direct aim at his infamous father,
the controversial Washington, DC spin dictor Richard Berman, best known for his 
dirty tactics to sully the reputations of groups working for causes related to the
environment, employment equality, labor rights, anti-smoking measures and so on.

The younger Berman’s disgust with his father has brewed for years, he writes, and
ultimately led to his decision to disband the group and pursue a screen writing 
career.Now that the Joos are over I can tell you my gravest secret. Worse than suicide,
worse than crack addiction:

My father. You might be surprised to know he is famous [sic]*, for terrible reasons.

My father is a despicable man. My father is a sort of human molestor [sic]. An exploiter.
A scoundrel. A world historical motherfucking son of a bitch. (sorry grandma)…

A couple of years ago I demanded he stop his work. Close down his company or I would
sever our relationship. He refused. He has just gotten worse. More evil. More powerful.
We’ve been “estranged” for over three years. Even as a child I disliked him. We 
were opposites. I wanted to read. He wanted to play games.
 Read the entire posting
from Dave

Related Post:  Baltimore's Page France Turns a Page; Calls it Quits

“Strange Victory, Strange Defeat” – Silver Jews from Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea

Berman’s wife and fellow band member, Carrie, is having a harder time than he is.
However, he made it quite clear he could not, would not, continue with the band (
perhaps a bit unfair to hard-core fans?).

“This winter I decided that the **SJ**‘s were too small of a force to ever come 
close to undoing a millionth of all the harm he [**Richard Berman**] has caused.”

*Editor’s note: If someone is ‘famous’ for ‘terrible’ reasons, they are in fact 
infamous.

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